Sunday, February 18, 2018

So, today I've been cleaning up my messes. I finally straightened out the spare room and got rid of the clutter. Still need to reorganize the closet in there, but the clutter is gone:

Then I decided to clean out the dry sink in the dining area. I had tons of candles and candle holders and Scentsy and etc. in the spare room and in the dry sink. I have now thrown out a lot of old candles and holders, organized what is left in the dry sink and the bottom drawer holds cards and card games, etc. (who really needs two dozen decks of cards?)

And then I went to the office and cleaned out the closet in there:

I have spent half the day shredding papers and haven't made a dent. I fixed a black trash bag in a box and have unloaded the shredder 4 times so far:

And I still have more to shred, but needed to give the shredder a break for the rest of the day, it was getting tired!:

But that's the rest of the stuff in the office that needs cleaned up. I have not cleaned out the file cabinets, so there will be more shredding when I do, and I know there are two more bankers boxes of paper that will mostly get shredded.I'm getting pretty serious about cleaning out and decluttering. Never have to move this stuff again. I took the second car load of stuff to the Rockford Rescue Mission on Friday. I'll hopefully not have too much more to go, but I still have some tubs to clean out in the sewing room, so who knows!Feeling pretty accomplished today!Until next time.....blessings.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

I'm having a steak for dinner tonight -- that's the extent of my Valentine celebration! (It was on sale!)But, I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning, 10 minutes on the recumbent bike and did three exercise groups on the weight machine! Yay me! And then I finished cleaning the house. Loaded another box in the car for donating, and pulled out a Longaberger basket that I kept on the Hoosier cabinet with little things in it. Cleaning it out and putting it back on the Hoosier!So, then I went to the basement after lunch. Did not load a quilt (aren't you happy, Nancy?). I bought a couple of patterns to make a couple of welcome banners to donate to the preschool where my daughter works. They have a fundraiser every year, including a silent auction. This is the first one:

Here it is partially completed!:

I have the birdhouses done -- not putting on the perches on the hole that it calls for -- I didn't like it! I have the piecing done except for the letters, and I've appliqued the bottom E so far. Should be able to finish it tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

So, after 13 inches of snow from Friday thru Sunday, I think I can see the concrete on the drive, in patches!I counted my 10 minutes of exercise as clearing the driveway those three days. Yesterday, I have no excuse - I went to Pecatonica for the day -- sewing! Last Friday was supposed to be our day for sewing/quilting, but that became impossible, so we managed to go yesterday.So, today, I'm counting my work as my 10 minutes! I did four loads of laundry, including a load of rugs; cleaned my bathroom, loaded 4 boxes of stuff to go to the donation place and still working on at least one more box and as much other stuff as I can jam into the trunk!Here's the next box to go in:

I've been going thru all the magazines - cooking, quilting, cross stitch, including books for crocheting, knitting, etc. Making sure to take my name off them or out of them. Still have about another 6 boxes to go thru. I took a load yesterday -- 5 boxes of stuff including kitchen stuff. There's also kitchen stuff in today's boxes!I dream about the day that I can just go to the basement and quilt and not be buried under so much "stuff". I also did a few minor things as I was going along -- finally took the hardware down for the nasty shades that were in my bedroom. Put out some Valentine quilts -- a day late and a dollar short -- but I'll keep them up for a week or two!There was a lot on my list that didn't get done, so tomorrow I'll have to hit it again -- clean the other bathrooms, dust, vacuum, etc. I need to start on a couple of welcome wall-hangings to donate to the silent auction for the preschool where my daughter works. I only have a couple of weeks to get them done, so gotta get busy on them!So, that was my day!Until next time......Blessings.

Friday, February 09, 2018

I have just unpacked the last box from the moving company. I have put the last bag of packing paper into the garage. I have tons of broken down boxes to haul out to the garage, but I am done unpacking!This was the last box that the jerk movers left in the garage, marked kitchen in basement.

I had to bring the wrapped stuff in because the box was too heavy to move. So, there you see the unholy amount of paper they use and I need to get rid of. It fits into a large black trash bag and I still have a bunch of those!

These are the last of the quilts I had stored in bins and I'll carry a few up every time I go upstairs. I'm putting them in the fabric cabinet that the jerk movers refused to move to the basement, so now they reside in the spare room.

And these two pictures are the storage area. The two clear and one lavender bins are empty for now. The big box on the left is batting. I will eventually go thru every bin I have and reduce the amount of stuff in them! I have unpacked, but I have not started to put things away yet. I'm keeping a bunch of the book size boxes to put stuff in to haul to the donation centers -- it's going to take awhile! Also throwing stuff out or put in the recycling bin to get rid of. This is going to be a major purge!And, today, I cleared the drive of 8" of snow, walked a block down to mailbox and back and did a lot of bending and lifting, so I'm counting it as my 10 minutes of exercise. My neighbor came over and used his big blower to clear the end of my drive! The plows come thru and tear up the road, which is gravel, and dump it just past the end of my drive. So I end up with a lot of gravel in the two feet beyond my concrete pad. I'm afraid to ruin my snowblower with the gravel, so I shoveled a little bit of it, but gave up! Figured I'd go out later and give it another go, but he came over and did it for me. God bless him!So, that's been my day and it's only noon. Gonna eat some lunch and load a quilt!Until next time....Blessings.

Thursday, February 08, 2018

So, first, I'm on day three of 10 minutes of exercise. Tuesday I walked on treadmill for 15 minutes and did a few minutes on the weight machine. Yesterday, only 10 minutes on the treadmill. Tuesday, I also cleared the driveway and opened a couple of boxes. And did some grocery shopping. My step count was 5816. I'm happy if I make it over 5000! Yesterday's count was only 4156 -- I quilted a quilt and loaded another one and cut fabric -- so I was standing a lot, but apparently not moving enough!Today, I haven't made it downstairs yet, but planning to do at least 10 minutes on the treadmill and then back to quilting. I'll also be unpacking another box downstairs. I'm packing boxes to take to the donation center and loading them in my trunk as I go. I will be making numerous trips to the donation center! And my stash of boxes and paper is slowly diminishing. (Today is recycling pickup!)

I hate the mess in the garage and can't wait for spring to clean it up. Can't wait for spring and no more snow either!Until next time....Blessings.

Monday, February 05, 2018

I had a CT scan this morning, and had to wait til 2 pm for the results, so I did nothing all day! The results were: No Pulmonary Embolism. Pain is probably muscular. (I think a combination of unpacking and the stress of dealing with the awful movers I hired). I decided I needed to do something productive after that, so unpacked 6 boxes in the spare room -- the last 6 boxes! Two big ones had candles and Misc. decor and all the pictures I had in the living room and hallway, and my recipe box I've been looking for, and my clock I've been looking for!The four smaller ones:

Cookbooks, notebooks with quilt stuff in them, and 9 of the magazine holders stuffed with quilt and cooking magazines. I kept wondering why it said spare room magazines because I did not have these in the office at the other house. And then I figured it out: These 4 boxes were from the spare room in the log home! So, I moved these twice and never opened them at the last place. Guess what -- I haven't missed them so all the magazines and probably most of the cookbooks are going to Rockford Rescue Mission store! I will take a bunch every time I go to Rockford!And, obviously, I just unpacked these and haven't put anything away -- but I'll be getting the empty boxes and paper out of there and start going thru it all as I put things away. I still have a few boxes in the basement to unpack and I'm sure a few in the garage. But, this time I'm unpacking everything and tossing a whole bunch! And that's how this day went! I also had the nurse call in another statin prescription and tomorrow I start back on the health wagon. Exercise at least 10 minutes every day. Walking is the main exercise -- you can count it if you're walking thru the grocery store for 30 minutes, but getting up from the couch to the kitchen table does not count! Spark People.Check out sparkpeople - both for diet and exercise and someone to encourage you if you need it. I'm committing myself to exercise at least 10 minutes a day, and to watch what I eat -- healthier of course. Next weigh-in is Feb. 25. I go back to Dr. in May for lab work and I hope to be at least 15 pounds lighter and have my blood sugar and blood pressure back under control, not to mention my cholesterol.Until next time....blessings.

Friday, February 02, 2018

So, after announcing that the next day was weigh-in time -- I haven't posted anything! Broke the scales? No, just got busy. My weigh-in -- I gained two pounds! Back to the ole grindstone -- but only got on the treadmill once since then, so gotta keep trying!

In the meantime, I've been to our Applique Club, and this is the next project! It's a Bunny Hill pattern called Cottage Garden. I bought the pattern, but then Cassie showed us the actual quilt, so then I ordered the whole kit. I usually use my own fabrics on applique quilts, but I actually like the fabrics in this one, so decided to go that route. And Cassie called and said the kit is in, so I'll be picking it up Friday!And today, was a fabulous day -- two BFF's came up to see me today -- so good to see them and spend time doing nothing! Nancy did bring me a quilt she made that needs quilting. It's a Lord's Prayer quilt with all the words embroidered throughout the quilt -- it's beautiful. And they gave me a beautiful housewarming gift:

(Thanks, Sharon, we missed you and hope you're feeling better soon).We went to lunch in Burlington -- I can get to the places, but I struggle finding my way back! Thankfully, Nancy knows her way around everywhere! Anyway -- what a great day.Reality -- gotta get back on the treadmill track and lose more weight!Until next time.....Blessings.